Entering the season, we’re always looking forward to good performances from some of our favorite players but, sadly, they can’t always live up to what we all expected.
Finding consistency is one of the hardest things to achieve in NBA basketball, as playing time can disappear in a heartbeat if things don’t go your way, something that obviously takes a toll on your confidence.
So, even if it’s still pretty early in the season, we can already take a look at some players that have been a major disappointment so far. Today, we’re going to let you know about the players that hat let us down because of our high expectations.
Markelle Fultz
Following quite a disappointing rookie season, we were all expecting the former 1st overall pick to have a breakout year for the Sixers, but so far, he hasn’t shown any signs of improvement in either side of the hardwood.
Fultz keeps on airballing three-pointers and his confidence seems way off right now. Through 12 games, he hasn’t been able to significantly improve his career averages of 8.0 points and 3.7 assists per game, averaging 9.1 points and 3.6 dimes a game.
Wesley Johnson
Wesley Johnson was supposed to have a huge offensive role for the New Orleans Pelicans regardless of if he started or was coming off the bench, but so far, he has been quite terrible in both sides of the hardwood.
Johnson has made a living out of his athleticism and defense but has gotten off a sloppy start of the season. Throughout his career, he’s averaged 7.2 points and 3.2 rebounds, slightly better than his current averages of 5.8 points and 2.4 boards a game.
Jahlil Okafor
After being considered one of the best offensive talents in the country, Jahlil Okafor’s NBA career looks pretty much over now, especially considering he’s barely setting a foot on the court for the New Orleans Pelicans.
Okafor better gets it going soon or he’s going to be without a job pretty soon. So far, he’s averaged 5.0 points and 3.0 boards on 46% shooting, way worse than his career averages of 12.6 points and 5.1 rebounds on 51% from the floor.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was supposed to be one of the best two-way players in the world, as he already had the tools to be a lockdown defender and had the physique to be a dominant driver and scorer.
Needless to say, that hasn’t happened, and the injury-prone wing keeps just getting worse on a yearly basis. Throughout his career, he’s posted averages of 9.1 points and 5.9 boards, but he’s currently averaging 8.6 and 5.9 rebounds on 48% shooting and a horrid 28.6% from three.
Thon Maker
Thon Maker was one of the most intriguing prospects in the world, he had the offensive skill set to become a prime stretch big man for modern NBA while his wingspan made him a defensive stud in the making.
Nonetheless, he’s failed to make the most of the minutes he’s gotten, averaging 4.5 points and just over 2 boards a game per his career. Lately, he’s been slightly better, averaging 6.0 points and 3.4 rebounds on 52% from the floor.
Alex Len
Alex Len was one of the most dominant big men in the league during his NCAA tenure, but he has failed to establish himself as a reliable big man so far in the league, mostly due to his inability to stay away from foul trouble.
He hasn’t been an offensive factor and we all thought a change of environment would be good for him. Still, he’s just averaging 10.5 points and 5.4 rebounds a game for the Hawks after averaging 7.3 points and 6.5 rebounds throughout his career.
Nerlens Noel
Nerlens Noel was in a prime position to succeed this season after his disastrous stint with the Dallas Mavericks, but he hasn’t been able to make the most of his minutes with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
So far, Jerami Grant has outplayed Noel and he hasn’t looked good playing next to Steven Adams. Throughout his career, he’s averaged 9.1 points and 7.1 boards, but so far, he’s averaging just 5.7 points and 5.2 boards a night.
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Marquese Chriss
Marquese Chriss has the athleticism and physical tools to be a walking bucket, but lack of focus and improvement have really taken a toll on his playing time, up to the point where he’s pretty much racking DNPs.
When he first got to the Houston Rockets, he looked like he was going to be the first man off the bench to backup Clint Capela on small ball sets, but he’s only made 3 appearances with averages of 2.0 points and 1.3 boards, way worse than his career averages of 8.4 points and 4.8 boards a night.
